Where the Heart is
by butterflyinc
Summary: Orihime is hired as a maid for Ulquiorra Cifer. He's heartless and ruthless and she helps him find his heart.


**Prompt One: Where the Heart is(UlquiorraxOrihime)**

By: KillerFiction

**A/N: Yup, here's the first off of my list of Valentines Day theme fiction. OrihimexUlquiorra, who would have guessed? If you would have read my other fiction, you would have noticed he's one of my favorite characters! Also, I happen to have him in plush form. (Oh God, anime nerd spills out!) Anyways, I wanted to a theme about the heart, since Ulquiorra doesn't know what one is. This is an alternative universe fic, so if you don't like then skip over it! If you do, good, please enjoy!**

**Anime: Bleach**

**Pairing: UlquiorraXOrihime (Regency era story) **

**Rating: T **

**Warnings: Language, Angst, Innuendoes, random spouts of misplace humor, Alternative Universe and Possible Out of Character Context (Ulquiorra especially) **

**Summary: Orihime Innoue is the new. maid for a cold hearted Duke (Ulquiorra Cifer) As soon as the exotic looking beauty arrives in his charge, he can't seem to get her off his mind, no matter how hard he tries. (Believe me he does) Does she have the power to show him that his heart isn't so hard to find?**

"_**The Heart is a the place where love is, **_

_**A Heart, is a valuable organ, both in love and for living. **_

_**A Heart can be strong and full of love, it can also be frigid, cold to the touch and empty of love. **_

_**Where is the Heart? That is the biggest question-waiting for an answer!"**_

**-(Random part of an old poem I wrote in high school.)**

XXX

The new maid had arrived, apparently she was a cross between a Japanese mother and an Irish father. Her long bright orange hair, kept up in a cap, a few strands playing peek-a-boo. Her large gray eyes, full of love and laughter. Her smile large and full of wonderment as she glanced up the larger Cifer manner. Her well used bags, on the steps; holding all of the personal effects that she ever owned.

Orihime gulped and stared up in wonder at the large brick mansion. Her wide eyes scanned the many windows the laden the large brick architecture. Those would be hard to clean!

She picked up her black uniform's petticoats and walked up to the large flagstone steps of the manner.

The doors were ornate, decorated with a large eagle, grasping what looked like a spear and a sword in each talon The large brass knockers, heavy and polished in a gleaming shine, were also decorated with eagles.

The grounds were kept manicured and had high hedges for privacy. Her cabby had a hard enough time dropping her off to long vast graveled circular driveway. There was a grand fountain, not unlike the ones Orihime saw in the more upscale parks of London. It was a grand fountain, with marble carvings of a gargoyle holding a larger vessel, pouring out water. The gargoyle were a impish grin of know-how.

Orihime had never seen such a breathtaking sight in all of her short 18 years of life. She was old enough to marry, but what man would take a waif, who had no dowry and a cent to her name. She was forced to choose between to career paths: working in a brothel or choosing a life of servitude; to the richer and more fortunate of human kind. She chose the less severe of the latter her choices.

The Cifer family was one of the more fortunate noble families, in the vicinity of Norwood.. Also, Ulquiorra Cifer, was the youngest duke in the area, just shy of his 25th birthday.

Orihime couldn't recall anytime in her life that she was more nervous, than she was now, standing infront of this very door.

She grasp the knocker in a dainty hand and felt the weight. She let the knocker drop, making a 'raping' sounds.

She sighed and stared at the graying sky, that rivaled the gray of her own orbs. She heard the sound of shoes echoing on marble tile. She knew it was one of the maids or butlers that worked at the establishment.

Orihime almost fell back on her hind end, when a solemn looking elderly gentleman opened up the door.

"Yes?" he asked, his voice full of montanus boredom.

"Um-um, I'm the new maid, Orihime Innoue," she stated with a little nervous bow and smile, her hands nervously twisting the hem of her vast skirts ends.

The solemn butler looked at the up at the young female and nodded. He saw the light in her eyes, that wouldn't last long here.

"Please do come in, Miss." he replied in monotone.

She nodded and picked up her bags off of the flagstone steps and followed the butler into the entryway.

The gigantic entryway had polished black and white imported marble, not doubt from Italy or Spain; someplace exotic like that. There was grand painting of past Cifer Dukedom holders lining the grand walls. The walls a creamy white color, with dark wood paneling separating the crown molding from the rest of it. The crown molding was decorated in jovial looking gargoyles and imps. There also was fancy elegantly carved wooden benches on the sides of the entryway walls.

Orihime looked in awe at the enchanting entryway. "It's beautiful!" she exclaimed in merry cheer. The butler merely grunted in agreement.

"The Cifer manner, is one the most well off estates in monetary values; in all of England," The butler explained.

"It is also one of the best kept manner too," he added, with some pride gracing his stoic eyes, but his face remained in a drool frozen state.

"May I be so kind to ask your name?" Orihime said.

The butler looked at her and said, "Carl Matters," he muttered, he had a slight Welsh accent.

"Nice to meet you, Carl."

"It' Mr. Matters to you," he corrected.

"Sorry," the accosted orangette said.

He just grunted and proceeded to show Orihime the manner.

She sighed as she stared up at the vast array of long corridors and large rooms, that would hard to dust. The whole place was spotless and sterile as a hospital room. All of the furniture expensive and probably imported from either Pairs or Rome.

Orihime glanced nervously at the expensive looking china.

"Break or chip any of his lordships belonging, you are immediately terminated," the stoic butler explained and

Orihime's gray eyes widen and her breath hitch. Just chipping something would cause her to thrown out flat on her face. What kind of man was this duke she wondered.

"Yes, she stated."

"You will get up immediately at 4:30 a.m. and won't go to bed till the whole place is clean. You pull your weight around here and do your keep, you and master should get along find. If not, it will result in consequences that you may not like." Mr. Matters stating, casting a glance at the orange haired female.

"Yes,"

"You will help serve meals to the master and you assigned to help clean the manner. You will be working alongside, Samantha," he stated, gesturing to the dark honey haired colored brunette, wearing the same uniform as her.

The woman, known as Samantha, looked up and gave her a kind smile then went back to dusting the Chinese vase infront of her. Orihime returned her smile back in kind.

As she and Mr. Matters made there way down the dark corridor, leading to a large library or study.

"This room is off-limits to anyone, but I or the other male staff," he stated glancing at the door.

He lead her to a large parlor/sitting room. It was adorned with all sorts of plush velvet looking couches, no doubt imported. The room was posh and dripping expense, the walls were decorated with what looked like crushed silk rose wall paper.

She glanced at male of average height sitting on one of them, holding a amber filled brandy snifter in one hand a book resting on his knees.

His luminous and startling green eyes glancing their way. His skin was almost translucent pallor. His hair an inky black mass tied back in a elegant black ribbon at his nape. He was wearing a cream colored ruffle shirt, a black jacket and matching pants and a pair knee-high ridding boots.

He was as handsome as they said he was. Lord Ulquiorra Cifer, the Duke of Norwood was all known to be cold hearted and unconcern about other's well being. He'll use people for any means necessary, not caring the effect it had on the ill effect it had on them. Those were rumors...or soon she'll find out the truth...

"Who is this?" she hear his elegant voice ring.

"Your Lordship, this is Orihime Innoue, she is the new servant that you had me hire," Mr. Matters explained.

"Oh, I remember I said I wanted someone with experience, not this little waif." he said coldly, staring with boredom at his glass of amber alcohol.

Orihime let out a little gasp. "I'm sorry, Lord Cifer if I don't please you," she added dropping to the floor in a clumsy nervous bow.

Ulquiorra's brow raised in amusement he sighed. "Fine, Miss Innoue, you'll have a week to prove your worth, that is all."

Orihime's gray eyes brighten and she smiled. "Oh, thank you, your Lordship. I will try my best to please you."

"You are excused," he said with a flick of his elegant wrist. She shuffled off and out the door.

XXX

Ulquiorra couldn't believe the maid that he hired was so breathtaking. Her eyes were the color of a stormy sky, but had the light of a sunny one instead. Her orange hair rivaling the orangest sunset. She had a curvaceous bodily, yet it was still slender and slight. Her bosom was large and plentiful. She was enough to drive him to distraction, that was what he didn't want.

He was sure she would displease him somehow.

He shook his head at his thought and went back to enjoying his reading. He groaned in frustration, he couldn't seem to get a certain orange haired girl off his mind. He downed his brandy and paced out of the drawing room.

The whole house wasn't his taste, it was his mother's, Claudia, taste in style. Only his study was done in his taste. The whole manner spelled elegance and wealth that he was brought up in.

Ulquiorra walked into his sacred study and shut the door, quietly.

He was pouring over his mother's latest string of debt, he swore that woman had no knowledge on how things costed. She was visiting a sister in Paris right now, thank God. He didn't like his mother one bit, after his father's death she became loose with her inheritance as well as her morals. He didn't know how many times the society whispered things about his flighty mother.

He began with a mad flourish, signing away the wasted money to cover her debts.

When he was finished his elegant form slouched against the worn leather seat.

XXX

Orihime worked with a vengeance dusting and tidying up the manner with her new friend Samantha. Samantha was a kind woman about twenty-five years of age. As Orihime found out, she was the daughter of the stoic Mr. Matters. She got her kind disposition from her mother, the cook. Her family had been working for the Cifer family since the first duke was authorised by the crown, in the medieval times.

She glanced in wonder at the objects she dusted, carefully. They all were expensive some were even imported from her mother's native land.

"So you're part Japanese?" Samantha asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes, my mother was, my father was a—let's just say he wasn't there, so I took my mother's name," Orihime explained.

"How unfortunate, you poor little dear," Samantha said patting her back.

"Oh, it's fine I just am use to it, he left us when I was 3 years old, leaving my brother, Sora, to care of us. Until he was crushed by a falling piece of metal," she said whipping away an errant tear.

"What about your mother?" Samantha pushed.

"She died of a fever when I was six."

"Oh," Samantha said, going back to dusting the many painting lining the hallways. As the went on there way of cleaning the vast house, Mr. Matters rung the bell telling that the afternoon meal was to be served.

As she made her way into the huge dinning room. A mahogany table with thirteen high back elegant carved chairs, depicting dancing little gargoyle and imps. She sighed as she began to serve midday meal. She was the only maid, that was assigned to do such a purpose. She started to set the table with the elegant bone china with dainty flowers on them. _'Not very masculine, there must be a lady living here.'_

She began setting the salad on to the single plate, that belonged to the lord. She saw his masculine-yet-elegant form stroll into the dinning hall, she felt his breath on the back of her neck making her almost drop the expensive china.

"Watch what you're doing, waif," he said in a cold tone.

She jumped and set the dish onto the table, making the silverware almost clatter to the floor. She glanced up at him and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, your majes-Lordship, I mean. You startled me is all,"

Ulquiorra raised an elegant ebony eyebrow and snarled.

"Are you mocking me, waif?" he said, his breath still dangerously on the back of his neck.

"N–No I'm n-not m-m-mocking y-y-you," she stuttered out taking a hard gulp of fear. A large mass clogging her breathing capabilities.

He nodded arrogantly and sat down at the head of the table. "Very well," he stated.

Orihime started to walk back to the wall, he grabbed her hand in a hard grip, stopping her.

"There's something about you," his luminous green orbs searching her big stormy gray ones. His grip didn't loosen, but got tighter.

Orihime gulped in fear. "What about me?"

His eyes stared without mercy into her what seemed like an eternity, then let her wrist go. "Nothing, you are excused," he said, leaving a certain orangette bewildered.

Orihime could already feel a bruise to appear on her dainty and delicate wrist. He frightened her, she mad a vow to stay out of his presence.

Like a scared cat, she ran from the dinning room bumping into Mr. Matters.

"What has accosted you child?" he asked.

"Nothing, just his Lordship—"

"Does he have any complaint, speak up child, I will not tolerate disobedience." he said in a harsh tone.

"N-no, he just said there's something about me," she stuttered, tears appearing in her stormy eyes.

"Oh, well, continue on your way, don't be idle, that's the devils work," he said, quoting some type of proverb.

She nodded and scurried in the opposite direction. There was something eerie about this place, she couldn't place her finger on it. And she didn't want to!

XXX

Ulquiorra glanced at his long emptied eating vessel and took a sip of his imported wine. He relished on the bitter-sweet hearty texture of it. He grunted and waited on the main course and Matters brought it in, he stared up at his loyal butler.

He still couldn't get the bewitching female out of his head and he didn't like that fact all. He wanted to find out about her.

"Matters, I want you to look in on the new maid in my charge," he stated, taking another sip from his goblet, then swirling the blood red liquid idly.

Matters looked up at the young duke startled. "As you wish," he said with a bow.

XXX

Orihime settled into her new chambers, it was a small room that she shared with Samantha and her young daughter. From what Samantha said, she was the child of the late Duke Cifer. She didn't specify if it was a joyous union or not, she wasn't going to dwell on it either.

Her little daughter Caitlin was an adorable little girl, with her mother's hair and the same colored eyes as the current duke. She was a cheerful little thing too.

"Miss Orihime, will you tell me a story, please?" the little girl begged giving her adorable sad eyes. Orihime felt her heart melt at that look.

"Caitlin, what did I say about pestering people?" Samantha scolded.

"Not to, it's rude and polite little girls shouldn't," she said looking down at her feet.

Orihime looked at the little girl and smiled. "I don't mind,"

Caitlin's eyes lit up and began to listen to her story.

"Once, there was a beautiful and exotic princess from Japan, who bewitched the heart of many men. Some thought she was an angel sent down from the heavens, because she had a heart as vast as the seven seas. She was the apple of the eye of her father, the emperor of all Japan.

She had hair as black as the wings of a raven and eyes as black and beautiful as the night' sky. She was the kind, not matter what peoples position in society. She was the youngest princess of the..." Orihime cut off when she saw Caitlin's eyes closing and settling into a peaceful slumber. She smiled and covered up the little girl with the blanket on the share bed.

"Thank you," Samantha mouthed.

"Don't mention it," she said, blowing out the candle.

-XXXX- (Time skip)

She had been here two months now, so far she had only one incident. She was avoiding the young duke as much as she could. Which, that didn't work, since she was now in charge of cleaning his bed chamber.

She loathed cleaning up after him, if she misplaced a single object there was hell to pay! She learned the hard way. After she was turned over his knee, like a two year old and spanked. He still called her a waif! She wasn't one!

"Waif!" she heard his voice boom from his study.

"Yes, Mi'Lord?" she inquired coming into his study, pausing at the door.

"I have some questions I'd like answered," he said in a harsh tone.

Her heart fluttered nervously. What could he want now? She was being careful and taking cleaning things with a precision, that even Mr. Matters admired.

"Come in here and take a seat," he said gesturing to the large and worn chair.

Orihime sank nervously into the chair and glanced up at him.

"Do you know what a heart is?" he inquired, making a certain female's face form a look of bewilderment.

"Isn't it the organ, that pumps blood to keep you living," she stated.

He scoffed annoyed and paced up to her. "No! Not that type of heart, the one that the lover's talk about, the that sickening emotion comes from."

"It's located, noone really knows where it's located, it's just a figure of speech," she answered.

Her answer didn't suit him, he harshly grabbed her wrist and made her gasp out in pain.

"Tell me where it's out now, or you'll be sorry!" he ground out, his eyes spitting green embers of fury.

"I already told you, it's probably located in your soul, which you don't have," she said, angered. It took a lot to push her to the emotion of anger, he had a certain way of doing it.

"I do too have a soul," he said, this time quieter.

She looked baffled at him. "Really? Then why do you treat your employees with such cruel heartedness? Why do you treat me—like I was a walking disease?"

"Because, I want to be in your heart," he muttered.

"My heart. My heart? Why would you want to do that, sir?" she asked.

"Because—I want to know where mine is at," he stated.

"Because you love me?" she offered, teasingly.

"Yeah, that..." he muttered.

The orangette took her turn to pace. Sshe walked up to Ulquiorra, placing her hand on his chest and felt his heart beating rapidly. She smiled and brought his hand up to it.

"You feel that, it's where your heart is," she said.

"Oh, well—" he was cut off by her placing a finger to his lips.

"Silly duke, that's where your heart is," she said, making his eyes widen.

Proving that was where his heart was. Showing him that he had a heart for love...

The End:

**A/N: *hides* God, that was the cheesiest piece of writing that I ever did! I wanted something cute and sweet for them. Well, this is what happens when I watch Pride and Prejudice with my Fiancé, while writing this. -_-' Blame him for coming up with the theme for it... X.X' he's more of the helpless romantic then I am. Anyways up next is a little drabble of RukiaxIchigo (not really my favorite couple but it's common) Hint, why they're only getting a drabble! Anways, thank's for reading and stay tuned for the next one!**

**Have a nice day and Happy Reading:**

**-Killerfiction:) **


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